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Synopsis

A CJI Chandrachud led bench today agreed to hear a plea seeking a probe into the Hindenberg Research report on the Adani Group.

On January 24, a US-based investment research firm named Hindenburg Research published a report titled 'Adani Group: How The World’s 3rd Richest Man Is Pulling The Largest Con In Corporate History', making allegations against the conglomerate, saying that the group has been involved 'in a brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades.' 

Notably, the Adani group has rubbished the allegations made by the Hindenburg report.

The petition, mentioned by Advocate Vishal Tiwari, sought a direction to set up a committee monitored by a retired apex court judge to investigate the Hindenburg Research report.

When the matter was mentioned today, a bench also comprising Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala asked the petitioner advocate as to what the plea was about.

Court was then informed, that a similar plea, which has been filed by Advocate ML Sharma is coming up tomorrow.

The instant plea also sought a direction to set up a special committee to supervise the sanction policy for loans of over Rs 500 crore given to big companies.

Advocate ML Sharma's petition which is also coming up tomorrow seeks to declare 'short-selling' as an offence of fraud. The said petition seeks an investigation against Nathan Anderson, the founder of Hindenburg, "for exploiting innocent Investors via short selling under the garb of artificial crashing".

Sharma has contended that Anderson and his Indian entities "hatched a criminal conspiracy; did short sale in hundreds of billion dollars prior and thereafter on 25th January 2023, they released a concocted news as a research report qua to the Adani Group of the companies, got crash share market and squared up their short sell position at the lowest rate".

The report led to a stock rout, erasing over $ 100 billion from Adani's empire and pushing him down on the global rich list. Also, the report came two days before a $2.5 billion follow-up public offering was issued by Adani Enterprises.